Arriaga-Arroyo
United States v. Arriaga-Arroyo
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM
Amado Arriaga-Arroyo appeals the judgment of conviction and 30-month sentence following his guilty plea to a single count of being a deported alien found in the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 . Arriaga-Arroyo contends that in light of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 , 120 S.Ct. 2348 , 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), the district court improperly imposed a sentence in excess of the two-year maximum set forth in 8 U.S.C. § 1326 (a) because the government neither pled in the indictment nor established through the guilty plea that Arriaga-Arroyo had been deported subsequent to a prior conviction for an aggravated felony. He also contends that Apprendi renders inapplicable Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 , 118 S.Ct. 1219 , 140 L.Ed.2d 350 (1998) (holding that 8 U.S.C. § 1326 (b)(2) is a sentencing factor and not a separate offense). These arguments are foreclosed by United States v. Pacheco-Zepeda, 234 F.3d 411 (9th Cir.2000), as amended (Feb. 8, 2001), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 121 S.Ct. 1503 , — L.Ed.2d — (2001) and by United States v. Castillo Rivera, 244 F.3d 1020 (9th Cir.2001). Accordingly, the sentence is affirmed.